1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process and device for the treatment of a fiber stock suspension, intended specifically for paper and/or cardboard production, and, more particularly, to a process of adding at least one additive thereto.
2. Description of the Related Art
The gentle handling of raw material resources necessitated specifically by economic and ecological reasons manifests itself in paper production in increasingly low basis weights of the paper web, as well as in partial replacement of the fiber stock by fillers. In order to achieve the strongest possible adhesion of the fillers onto the fiber surfaces, the latest appropriate treatment is a so-called “Fiber Loading™” process, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,090, which is hereby incorporated by reference. During such a “Fiber Loading™” process, at least one additive, specifically a filler, is added to the moistened fiber surfaces of the fiber material. The fibers may, for instance, be loaded with calcium carbonate. For this purpose calcium oxide and/or calcium hydroxide is added to the moist disintegrated fiber material, whereby at least a portion thereof may associate with the water that is present in addition to the fiber material. The fiber material treated in this manner is then supplied with pure carbon dioxide or with a medium containing carbon dioxide. Moreover, the resulting CaCO3 may create a fiber stock suspension around the fibers.
Also, when loading the fibers with a particular additive or filler, the procedure as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,090 may specifically be followed.
A pre-treatment of the paper suspension is necessary for the aforementioned “Fiber Loading™” process. However, the problem is that hitherto no optimally suitable machine was available for such a process.